White Chocolate Walnut Blondie Brownie with Maple Butter Sauce

Yes, it does taste as good as it sounds. This is a recipe that is very similar - if not better, to Applebee's classic dessert. I made the mistake of watching 8 episodes of "Cake Boss" and was craving a pastry pretty bad - so bad that the diet went out the window and the brownies went in the oven!

Ingredients for the brownie:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or Maple Flavoring
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Ingredients for the Maple Butter Sauce:
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions for the Brownie:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the dry ingredients -flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Add chopped nuts. Set aside.

Melt butter, then add brown sugar and mix. Add egg and vanilla extract, blend well. Then add dry ingredient mixture a little at a time, mixing well. Stir in white chocolate chips.Spread in a 8 or 9 inch square pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean - or with slightly fudgy looking crumbs. While it is baking - get things ready for the maple butter sauce.

This is what it looked like after I put it in the pan, and patted it down with a spatula. You can see how thick this batter is, it has a paste-like consistency.


This is what it looked like after baking. I didn't think I had any walnuts so I was going to make it without them, but then I remembered I did actually have some, so I kinda threw them on top half-way through baking.

Maple Butter Sauce Directions:
Combine maple syrup and butter, cook over low heat until butter is melted. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Add walnuts, or sprinkle on top of dessert after serving.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and hot maple butter sauce drizzled on top.Note: Make sure you serve this with ice cream, as the brownie and maple butter sauce are very, very rich and you really need the ice cream to help balance it out. It is so good though - the brownie is chewy and gooey and the sauce is warm and melts the ice cream a little. These brownies are also really good on their own, without any sauce or ice cream. I think I will be adding these brownies to my Christmas baking list!